So Much To Do, So Little Time

I haven't had much fun stuff to post about lately. Plus I've been really busy. When I get a free minute after the kids hit the sack, I've got some really important things to do online. Much more important than posting silly blog entries. Seriously, friends. I have to read THIS, view THIS since I missed DH last night, and play THIS (which is also known as crack for web nerds).

A Trip Gone Awry

I had every intention of writing a snotty post about how my good friend over at luvthebearcats is now on a FREE 7-day cruise while the rest of us were stuck here in North America in a snow/ice mess, and encouraging all of you to go to her blog and post all kinds of nasty comments. But the trip is not going as planned.

Her parents have been here watching the kids, but her mother has come down with pneumonia and had to be hospitalized last night. I brought the kids home with me last night so now I'm (temporarily) the mother of 4.

I talked to my friend last night and her and her husband have had the vomiting flu ever since they got there on Sunday. She was just starting to feel ok last night.

Let this be a lesson learned, my friend. Bad things happen to people who get these free trips and then rub it in to everyone for several weeks prior to their departure.

Papa Bear Hallas Would Be Proud

Thanks to my dad and my brothers, I grew up feeling like I could hang with the guys. I knew most of the Major League Baseball teams and who played what positions. I could use the terms “safety”, “full-court press” and “pinch hit” correctly in a sentence. Whenever we were in the car, you could bet that the radio would be tuned to some static-filled station and once in awhile you could hear the faint sounds of a game going on. So while I’ve never resembeled anything close to an athlete, I do know a thing or two about athletics.

I come from a long line of Chicago fans: Bulls, Cubs, and Da Bears. So when the Bears made it to the Super Bowl back in 1986, you can be sure that I was in my glory with this little diddy. I knew every word, every dance move (although after watching this qualifies as dancing), and I thought Jim McMahon was the hottest thing to walk the face of this earth.

I'm a Hot Toe Picker

I have a bit of an odd sense of humor, according to some people. For example, each time I watch Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends with my kids, I laugh hysterically with them all the way through it. If your kids aren't watching this, you are totally missing out.

And My Favorite Foster Character, Cheese:

Oh Yes I DO Own These

Air Supply Greatest Hits

Chicago Greatest Hits

Rock On! Hits from 1981

Prince - The Collection

Monday Meme

Here is my latest meme edition, thanks to Chilihead. Before you read, please make note that I hearby tag YOU! (You includes anyone reading this who has a blog.)


If you had to choose one vice in exclusion of all others, what would it be?

Clocks. You think the world is a mess now – what if we didn’t know what time it was?

If you could change one specific thing about the world, what would it be?

I would rid the world of dirty laundry.

Name the cartoon character you identify with the most.

Cookie Monster

If you could live one day of your life over again, what day would that be?

Last Thursday.

If you could go back in history and spend a day with one person, who would it be?

Anna Nicole Smith’s mother. I’d be there to stop her from procreating.

What is one thing you lost, sold, or threw away that you wish you had back?

My Yukon, as long as it didn’t come back with the payments.

What is your one hidden talent that almost nobody knows about?

I’m pretty good at pretending I’m asleep when the dog comes in to our room in the morning to let us know he needs let outside.

What is your most cherished possession?

It’s a tie between my debit card and my sweatpants.

What one person influenced your life the most growing up?

The teacher who taught me to read and write. I have no idea who that was. But wow would I be messed up if I didn't know how to read or write.

What word describes you better than any other?

Nervy, not to be confused with nerdy.

It was SO not Air Supply

Someone followed me to work the other day.

I knew she was there, and she was supposed to be following me. But somehow it still unnerved me. (I’m not entirely sure what innerved means, but I think it fits there.) Usually I just slide into my car in the morning and get myself to work however I darn well please. But that morning I had, like, responsibility to get another person to the correct destination and correct time and make sure not to lose her in the process.

Was I going too fast for her? Was I too slow for her? At one point she got ½ mile behind me. Did she think I was completely out of control and speeding my way to an early death? I was pressured, because people who drive both slower and faster than me are complete morons, in my book. I mean, everyone should be going the perfect speed – MY speed. And I didn’t want to be a moron in her book.

And then a car got between us. Dang. Couldn’t people tell that she needed to be following me? Then I wondered how many “follower/followee” couples I had gotten in between in my aimless driving to work each morning. Make a note – keep an eye out for those people so they can try to keep together.

Could she see into my rear view mirror and tell that I was singing? And if so, did it look like I was singing something cool like Pink Floyd or AC/DC or could she totally tell that it was Air Supply?

A Must Read

If you are looking for some interesting reading today, it ain't going to be anything I'm posting. I'm a busy girl. So I'll lead you over to Sandy's blog. She's a single parent who, in my book, is doing an awesome job of dealing with the traumatizing event of losing her husband to a tragic accident and guiding herself and her 8 children through the process. I love her blog. It makes me really think about my own life, and I thank her for that.

Make sure you read THIS POST of hers. Especially if you are male. Or if you have children. Or if you just want to read a hilarious story that happened to her. It rocks.

People Buy the Strangest Crap

Next time you are in line at Target or Wally World, check out what the dude/dudette is buying. You’ll learn a lot about them. Or at least you can come up with a pretty good story in your head.

At Target the other night, Hubs and I were in line (kidless – SWEET!) and the guy in the next aisle was buying two white hand towels. Nothing else – just these towels. I wanted to march over to him and say, “What the hell? This entire store at your finger tips and the only thing you need are these towels?” It was much more interesting to come up with my own theories.

Theory 1
Guy in Target, it’s around 9:30 on a Saturday night, we’re in a college town, the students are just getting back from Christmas break, guy missed girl, girl prolly waiting out in the car or maybe a nearby apartment, towels can be extremely helpful in cleaning up fluids. White towels.

Theory 2
Guy in Target, it’s around 9:30 on a Saturday night, we’re in a college town, the students are just getting back from Christmas break, guy missed girl so he invited her over to his place. She walks in the door and yells, “Get your ass to Target and get some dish towels. You are SO cleaning up these dishes that have been sitting here before Christmas! I will NOT be back until you clean up this hell hole!”

Theory 3
Guy in Target, it’s around 9:30 on a Saturday night, we’re in a college town, guy doesn’t have a girl. Yeah, good choice on the color.

And Theory 4
He just needed some towels.

I'm Bugged

I want a gmail account but the dudes at the gmail company are ignoring me. I applied for an account so many times I’m sure they have me blocked somehow by now. People who read my blog have been wanting to, like, email me and stuff.

My house is eternally cluttered. I can keep the kitchen, dining room and living room picked up and cleaned. But the rest of the house doesn’t have a prayer.

Ever since I became Green 3 Budget Queen, the payment we’re making on my husband’s truck has bugged the hell out of me. It’s $455 per month. Now I’m almost obsessed with getting that thing paid off.

I can’t get into an exercise routine. The other night I even opened the door and headed in there, but then decided the room was too messy to work out in. So I closed the door and went and plopped myself on the couch.

IE7 won’t load on my laptop at home. It gets all horked up. So I’ve reverted back to IE6, but I keep Mozilla on the side because the new Blogger won’t work with IE6.

Our family loves a good vacation. We were just in Vegas a few months ago. And we’re known to take off on weekend jaunts fairly often. (I think that’s the first time I’ve ever typed the word”jaunt”.) But now that I’m in budget mode, how do I justify a spring trip? We could drive, but we’re flyers. We don’t drive very far. We’re suffering from Colorado withdrawal so I’ll have to figure out something. There’s nothin better than Summit County in the winter. Ok, maybe there are tons of things better but I thought that line would sound cool.

And for those of you who are bugged about my sidebars not being updated since my blog remodel, tough. I'll get to it when I'm good and ready.

Woo-Hoo! I'm Fancy Now!

I needed to post quickly and let you know that the current masthead was NOT done by me. Are you kidding? I don't have that kind of talent. This design was the genius work of Jules. Isn't it nice?

New (and Improved?)

Here's what we have so far, as far as my blog goes. See that header? Yeah, designed it myself. And yeah, I'm sure that's obvious. Now if I could just get it to be the right size I'd be in good shape. Or maybe I should leave it that way as sort of an artsy statement?

In case you one of those who links off my blog roll, you'll notice that I've updated it with the blogs I read regularly. Hopefully I can find time to add more to my list soon.

My Blawgggggg

I'm testing out my Blog design skills, so bear with me over the next few days.

It's Budget Time!

I’ve decided, much to my husband’s chagrin probably, that this “living-by-the-seat-of-your-pants” deal is not working. When it comes to buying crap, we’ve always lived with this motto:

Have Money, Don’t Know How Much, But We Have Enough to Buy It So Let’s Just Buy It.

So I’ve changed my name to “Green 3 Budgeting Queen” and hereby announce the following:

1. There now exists a Green3 Family Balance Sheet. This will be reviewed monthly, if not more often. And that Net Worth line better increase month by month.

2. Another new item is the Green3 Monthly Budget Worksheet. And this will be followed. But since we really have never kept track of how much we spend, January will be a fact-gathering month. I know our standard bills, but all those debit card withdrawals have been unaccounted for…up ‘til now.

3. After January is done, a detailed list of our expenses will be reviewed. It’s my goal to knock $250 off that amount for February. That in itself would be an awesome birthday present for me!

Here are the things I know I will not be doing in 2007:
1. Switching my blog to Typepad. Sorry Typepad fans, but my freebie blog is working out just fine.

2. Getting a new car. It seems like I change cars with the seasons. I downgraded my vehicle last year and I’m sticking with this lower-dollar unit for quite some time – no matter how much I love those ginormous SUVs. LOVE EM!

3. Eating out for my lunches as often. That alone should save me almost $100.00 per month.

4. I will no longer buy my precious bottles of Diet Mt. Dew by the bottle. Did you know that those babies cost $1.60 each these days? So now my kitchen is full of 6-packs of my Dew and DH’s Diet Pepsi.

In case you are wondering, I haven’t had this revelation because we’re on the verge of bankruptcy or anything. I just have been doing a lot of research and thinking lately and there are so many better ways to spend our money than on $1.60 bottles of Diet Dew or $30.00 meals by eating out at night rather than staying home and making a meal. And I also want to be able to put my Excel knowledge to good use.

I know this post has totally bored you and you will probably unsubscribe from my blog just because of it. But darn it, I had to write it down to make myself accountable!